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用法 (yòng fǎ) — usage; way of using something

Definition

用法 (yòngfǎ) names the way or method something is used — 'how to use it,' often paired with 说明. 用途 is about purpose ('what it's for'), not method.

noun
usageway of using something

Examples

  • 用法。
    Zhè ge yòng fǎ hěn jiǎn dān.
    This usage is very simple.
  • 用法？
    Qǐng wèn zhè ge shǒu jī de yòng fǎ shì shén me?
    May I ask what the usage of this phone is?
  • 用法。
    Nǐ xiān kàn yòng fǎ shuō míng zài yòng.
    Read the usage instructions first and then use it.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
偏正piānzhèngModifier + head

The first part narrows down the second: it says what kind of thing the head is.

用yònguse
法fǎmethod

用 gives the idea of using, and 法 the way or method; together they mean how something is used.

Characters in this word

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

用 was formed by adding a handle to an earlier form.

Open 用 →

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
氵Written in full as水shuǐwater
廌廌zhìa type of antelope or caprid
Sound part声符shēngfú
盍
盍hé法fǎ
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

法's older form combined 氵 (water) and 廌 (a type of antelope or caprid), with 盍 as a sound part; later 廌 was dropped.

Open 法 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 5

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